Written by Bob Meyer, Editor of BarterNews

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IRTA Announces Transparency For Universal Currency

In response to the unanimous mandate from the IRTA membership present at the 2004 convention to institute higher levels of ethical standards and fiscal practices, the Universal Currency (UC) committee announced the following initial step.

Effective November 30, 2004, all UC balances will be published and sent to the entire UC membership on a monthly basis. The UC committee feels that this is an important trading tool, providing needed transparency within the system.

IRTA president Lois Dale explained, “Our industry is demanding higher ethical standards the world over. IRTA will continue to encourage, teach, and expect high ethical and professional conduct of its members.”

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District Court Judge Says California Department Of Real Estate Was Wrong

Judge Morrison C. England Jr. said the California Department of Real Estate statute “appears wholly arbitrary” in requiring that a web site (www.ForSaleByOwner.com) obtain a real estate broker’s license in order to publish paid ads listing properties for sale on its site.

Judge England of the U.S. District Court in Sacramento said there appears to be no justification whatsoever for any distinction between a web site and newspapers that are not required to have a broker’s license, yet publish the same information online and in print.

The case came before the court when Colby Sambrotto, ForSaleByOwner’s COO, sued the state in 2003 after his company was sent a cease-and-desist order for operating without a real estate license.

Every barter company in the world is listed on our web site, click through to our Global List of Barter Companies.

Thailand Demands Barter Component For Purchase Agreement

The Thai government says it won’t buy eight European Airbus planes for its national carrier unless barter becomes a part of the EU$1.8 billion deal.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said, “There will be no purchase signing until we have a clear position from the European Union that they will give us justice, and take more of our agricultural products as partial payment for the Airbus.”

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Been There, Done That?...You’re Hired!

Industry Experience Outranks People Skills

Personality may be a plus, but it won’t necessarily land you a job. According to a survey by Robert Half International (the world’s first and largest staffing service specializing in the accounting, finance and information technology fields), 41% of chief financial officers said industry experience is the factor most likely to tip the scales in an applicant’s favor. Only 1% of executives cited people skills, and 33% said individuals with software and technology expertise have an advantage.

From the BarterNews Archives...

How A Trade Exchange Can Barter With The Local Media

By V. Ray Brown

(Ray Brown, deceased in 2001, was president of Bartercard Inc. in Little Rock. Kenn Flemmons purchased the Arkansas company’s assets from Brown’s widow and operates the highly efficient Southern Barter Exchange.)

Growing up in the media industry offered me a unique look at the business. Over the 25 odd years of first tinkering with taping high school programs, then working as a student audio engineer and disc jockey for our college town radio station, to station management, I have touched on just about every aspect of the business.

Most of those years were spent in the sales area, so I guess any expertise claimed should be in the sales management arena. During my tenure with television, I handled many thousands of dollars worth of barter business.

At any one time, we had over two dozen trades with local, regional and national concerns. The theory was, trade for two of everything...one to use and one for extra parts!

After officially entering the barter business, it was intriguing to see another perspective of the industry. While we were well acquainted with the way of doing barter, it had not entered my mind what limitations others have in utilizing this tool.

It became apparent that our barter company was a hero of sorts for people like our florist, dentist, jeweler and other businesses that did not have an on-the-street sales force.

They had to rely on advertising to bring in customers. Therefore, trading opportunities come very rarely, if ever! Bartercard became the sales force to go into the community and dig up the trade opportunities, to represent their company as an outside salesman. This created new business and special buying power that businesses with an outside sales force offered daily.

Enamored by this hero worship from these companies, it took me several months to realign my thinking to present barter in a different manner when talking with the media...or anyone with an outside sales force. The “what we can do for you” is a lot different for radio, television, or newspaper than it is for those businesses without an active sales force.

(Next week:
What a trade exchange (of any size) can offer the big media company...)

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Barter Fairs & Holiday Expo's. . .

December:

New England Trade will hold their 8th Annual Barter Expo on Wednesday, December 1 at the Danversport Yacht Club at 6:00 p.m. For more information call (781) 388-9200.

The Barter Company’s Annual Trade Show will be held on Saturday, December 4 at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta from 12 noon to 5 p.m.. Over 36,000 sq. feet will be dedicated to the trade show. For more information call (770) 591-4343.

The oldest and largest BXI fair is the Orange County Holiday Fair at the Costa Mesa Orange County Fairgrounds in Bldg. 10 (same location for 24 years). Scheduled for Sunday, December 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information call (714) 847-5477.

Continental Trade Exchange (Santa Rosa, CA) Holiday Expo will take place Sunday, December 5 at Santa Rosa Veterans’ Memorial Building, 1351 Maple Avenue, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information call (707) 585-7722.

Trade Atlanta, Premier Barter, and Barter For Less are cooperatively staging a Holiday Festival on Tuesday, December 7 in Gwinnett, Georgia, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information call (678) 793-9463.

BXI Savannah & BXI Georgia 2004 BXI Holiday Trade Fair will be held at the Crosswinds Golf Club Clubhouse, 232 James B. Blackburn Drive, in Savannah on Tuesday, December 7 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Dinner will be served to all attendees. For more information call (912) 355-2555.

TradeAmericanCard 2004 Barter & Business Expo on Sunday, December 12 at The Grove of Anaheim, 2200 E. Katella Avenue, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. For more information call (714) 532-1610.

BXI Northern California/Nevada’s Holiday Trade Fair will be held on Sunday, December 12 at the Clarion Hotel at the San Jose Airport, 12 noon to 4 p.m. For more information e-mail ron@bxinorcal.com or phone (650) 592-2929.

BXI Southern Arizona’s Tradefair is scheduled for Sunday, December 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information call (520) 325-2929.

(Barter companies: Send your holiday trade fair information to: bmeyer@barternews.com.)

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Here & There...

• Next month the Supreme Court of the United States will hear arguments on whether wineries should be allowed to ship wine across state lines. The court is expected to rule on the matter before its current term ends in June. Many in the barter industry feel that legalizing shipping across state lines would jump-start increased bartering, as the growth in the number of wineries has swelled to 3,726 from 1,347 back in 1985.

• After offering to issue $680 million in secured debt to the holders of $2.6 billion of unsecured debt, Delta Airlines exchanged unsecured notes for $607 million in secured bonds before the offer expired. (Secured notes are redeemed more easily than unsecured bonds if the company enters into bankruptcy proceedings.)

• First class airline passengers are being lavished with more perks than ever. As part of its new coast-to-coast premium service, United Airlines will be giving away goodie bags stuffed with everything from St. Tropez self-tanner to Tempur-Pedic travel pillows to gift certificates for events like the Super Bowl and the Cannes Film Festival.

  The bags are valued upwards to $1,000, but don’t cost United a cent...companies pay product-placement firm Madison & Mulholland a fee in hopes their merchandise will reach high-rent customers.

• Have you signed up to receive a summary via e-mail of the Tuesday Report every week? If not, go to the top of this issue (right hand corner) and sign up!

• The U.S. is still the world’s deepest and most lucrative capital market, but European executives who particularly dislike the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of tougher corporate governance rules are not seeking to list on the U.S. market in New York. The exception are Chinese companies, on the mainland or in Hong Kong. They account for nearly half of this year’s foreign IPOs.

• Spa treatments have become a lifestyle staple for many urban and suburban Americans. Not surprisingly, the industry generated revenue of $11.2 billion in 2003. The boom today is in the day-spa business which boasts about 8,700 in the U.S., up 25% from a year ago.

  Within the day-spa trend, the traveling spa is gaining momentum. Many of these mobile spas are individual businesses that dispatch uniformed, licensed technicians to provide reflexology, massages, manicures, pedicures, facials, and even food—to homes, hotel rooms, companies and health clubs. They’re also hired for parties and other special occasions.